Tanker Halo, 1920
The steam tanker
Halo, photographed on May 1, 1942, less
than three weeks before her loss.
Above her bridge she flies flags giving her recognition code, Q7G.
Photo courtesy the
Mariners Museum, Newport News, Virginia.
On May 19, 1942, the steam tanker Halo weighed anchor at
Galveston and headed toward New Orleans with a cargo of crude oil. Just
after midnight on the following day, May 20, about fifty miles from the
Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River, Halo fell victim to U-506,
under the command of Kapitan-Leutnant Erich Wűrdemann. The first torpedo
hit on the starboard side near the bridge and was followed by a second hit
just aft of the bridge. This part of the ship was reportedly “completely
destroyed.” As fire spread across the vessel, it began to plunge down at
the bow. The explosions and fire destroyed all four lifeboats and three life
rafts. The crew was able to launch only one partially-burned life raft
before flames over took the ship and it sank. Out of a crew of forty-two
men, only twenty-three managed to escape, most by just grabbing life vests
and jumping overboard.
Halo
was built in 1920, and was owned by the Cities Service Oil Co. She was a
6,986 ton tanker with an estimated keel length of 435 feet, based on other
tankers of the same tonnage and time period. Unlike Gulfoil, Halo
was an unarmed vessel. According to reports, the two torpedoes that struck
the vessel amidships caused extensive damage and “tore the ship apart.”
Although a large hole was probably ripped in the midsection of the vessel,
the accounts of survivors and U-boat commander, Wűrdemann, indicate the ship
was intact when it sank.
In July
2000 Pogo
Producing Company contracted C&C Technologies to perform an engineering and
hazard study for a proposed dual 6-inch gas pipeline route. The
survey was conducted
with a Datasonic SIS1000 deep-tow system, and a shipwreck was located in 470 feet of water.
Rob Church of C&C conducted an assessment and tentatively identified the vessel as
Halo.
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